WrestleMania XXVI Predictions

First blog in a loooooonnnnnnngggggggg time, but I do love WrestleMania and this year’s looks like it is going to be absolutely epic. So yeah, I know you aren’t reading this bit, so let’s go straight to my predictions.

Money In The Bank

Every year this is a fun match, full of spots with no rhyme or reason, intended to get the crowd out of their seats and worked up for the major matches on the card – but the ending is always significant to the next year in WWE. Last year it triggered CM Punk into become the most awesome heel WWE has had since Edge first became the Rated R Superstar, and hopefully we’ll get something like that this year. I just wonder who though. I don’t think any of them are ready for the next level, except for Christian and Kofi, but of course, Christian hasn’t done much lately, and Kofi’s push seemed to go cold really quickly. That said, last year CM Punk was doing little, but he still won. That said, I think it is a case of WWE having better things to do because they can wait till after MITB to build someone up. I think Kofi Kingston will take this one then, but Christian is a strong possibility. Also, let me just remind you of the scenario everyone seems to want: Christian wins and cashes it in on Edge.

PREDICTION: Kofi Kingston.

Also, watch for Dolph Ziggler. The guy always throws himself into spots, so I can see him taking lots of bumps.

10-Diva Tag Match

I’d be much more interested in Beth Phoenix versus Michelle McCool, but I guess they wanted everyone on the card. I’m not at all bothered about this match though. Seeing as it is Mania, and WWE need to be building Beth up for a title shot, she’ll get the win for the Faces.

PREDICTION: Beth, Mickie, Kelly, Eve and Gail.

Mysterio/Punk

Potential show stealer here. Punk has been consistently amazing since he turned heel, and everything he has done with Mysterio has been golden. Mysterio has also been on form this year, as you can see by that poll I haven’t gone back to for a while, he can seemly have a good match with everyone. I consider these guys two of the best workers in WWE, so I am expecting only great things. Mysterio will go over, I think, unless WWE wants to pull out a shocker. This match just screams Face-Wins-Heel-Gets-Comeuppance though.

PREDICTION: Rey Mysterio.

Legacy Triple Threat

Okay, I don’t care at all for this match. The entire Legacy storyline went stale a long time ago and at this point I just don’t care. That said, I’m not sure which way they’ll go at all. Orton is definitely a face at this point, so I think based off that he’ll be the one getting his hands raised. I’ll be looking at Ted and Cody though; will they come out together? If not, will they both have the same theme music? Also, if one of them is to win, it’ll probably be via screwing the other one, and in that case, who does WWE  want to give the push to? All I am certain about here is, come the annual Draft, Legacy will be separated.

PREDICTION: Randy Orton.

Triple H/Sheamus

We all know the story of these two being workout buddies and all, and I am sure there is a million smarks out there saying “HHH GONNA WIN COZ HE HAST O GO OVA AT MANYA!!!!111eleven!!1” but they can all fuck off. The result all comes down to Sheamus’ standing with WWE. Are they confident in him? Or have they gone sour? I hope it is the former because I really like Sheamus and a win here will make him. Fingers crossed he goes over, but if the last 6 months are anything to go by I am wary of a quick HHH victory and WWE thinking they are doing something good by it.

PREDICTION: Sheamus.

Tag Title Match

I have the feeling this’ll be really good. I’m still peeved that Morrison and Miz didn’t get in MITB, but this’ll do. Miz and Show do really well together (I hope they get a promo opportunity early on). It is no secret that I’m not a fan of R-Truth, but I’ll tolerate him here, because I think he’ll be a good crash-test-dummy for Show to do his stuff on. I predict a simple build-up, hot tag, faces look like they’re to win, Miz rolls Morrison up, and the heels steal it. That is all that is required here, to be honest, and all four guys can make that work just fine. ShowMiz needs to keep those titles, for my sake.

PREDICTION: ShowMiz.

Hart/McMahon

We won’t be seeing much here, due to Hart’s injury history and the apparent deal he has with his insurance company and everything he does having to go through them. What I think we’ll see is a simple: Vince comes out looking buff, he charges into Bret’s fist, Bret locks in Sharpshooter and wins. The problem if that though is, what was the need for the No Holds Barred stipulation? Considering that, we’ll probably see Hart chasing Vince around the arena, occasionally hitting him with a weapon and a punch. I wouldn’t be surprised if this match took all night with just cut-aways to the back between matches.

PREDICTION: Bret Hart.

Batista/Cena

Really excited for this one. Such simple, old school booking that translates to “I don’t like you, and you have the title I want, lets fight!” We know these guys can work together really well, they have great chemistry, and we know they always pull out their best for Mania (Batista/Taker anyone? Cena/Michaels anyone?). I would say Cena will win here, but I don’t think he should. This feud will go on after Mania, I can guarantee that, so Cena does not need to win. Batista winning though will fit the storyline, he would have finally beat Cena on the grandest stage and stole his spotlight. It’ll be interesting if Cena does lose, because he has won a title at every Mania he’s been at.

PREDICTION: John Cena.

Edge/Jericho

There is only one conclusion here, and that is Edge, the winner of the Royal Rumble, to get his fairy-tale ending and win the title. This will probably wind up being one of the night’s best worked matches. We’ll see Jericho working over Edge’s Achilles and a constant switching in pace, ending of course in a SPEAR SPEAR SPEAR!

PREDICTION: Chris Jericho.

Taker/Michaels

Here we have what will probably be Match of the Night, Match of the Year, and Match of the Decade (I may be getting ahead of myself). I can’t put into words how much I’m looking forward to this match. Word of warning for anyone unlucky enough to be in the room when I’m watching this: I’m probably going to cry. I am pretty sure Taker will win, but as they did last year, they will work it so I start second and third guessing myself. I will be blown away, I know I am, and I know how emotional I’ll get when Michaels retires :(. If this doesn’t finish the show I’m going to be pissed.

PREDICTION: The Undertaker.

Okay, Predictions done. 4 hours till MANIA BABY! Enjoy all, I know I will.

Week In Wrestling Review (Feb 19th - Feb 25th)

Sorry I'm a little late, fell asleep while watching Impact the first time round and only watched the rest today. 1 PPV, 4 TV WWE shows (one of which is new) and TNA Impact. Straight to business this week.

WWE Smackdown (19th February)

Same as usual besides a few bumps along the road (such as the Maria/Matt Hardy storyline and Ziggler/Kane), I also think the whole thing with Mickie James and Michelle McCool has rode right off the cliff and I can't believe it is being continued only with the added ingredient of Vickie Guerrero. Where is Beth in all of this? The usual suspects where awesome as always (Punk/SES, Jericho, Edge, Taker). One week later though I can't really say anything jumps out at me as amazing. 

WWE Elimination Chamber (21st February)

This was like someone put bad tuna in my sandwich. I loved both the RAW and Smackdown Chambers, both where booked in very different ways meaning what one lacked the other had, every fan would be satisfied with the Chambers for that reason, and in this sandwich metaphor they are my bread. The tuna was most of the stuff in between. The Diva's Title Match that became a Divas Tag Match for no reason whatsoever, the forgettable at best Kane/McIntyre Intercontinental Title Match, the random appearance of William Regal that just seemed to be to get Edge on screen. The last-minute thrown-together Miz/MVP match though was really good and in this scenario I guess it is the rather nice cheese that is also in my sandwich. 

WWE Monday Night RAW (22nd February)

I thought this was a fun RAW with ShowMiz versus A Bull being my favourite part - that stuff was hilarious considering it was one of the few times the guest hosts were on screen. I believe Jewel also had the pretty good "My yodelling will destroy you" line, so they didn't do bad on reflection. Elsewhere, Jericho cut an awesome promo which almost made promo of the week ahead of CM Punk's promo at Elimination Chamber, but the promo that won that honour was Michaels/Undertaker, despite Taker looking a bit like a tranny due to all that burn ointment. I'm liking the Cena/Batista/Vince/Hart stuff, I can't wait to see what WWE has in store for Mania. In stark contrast, I am very meh about the Legacy stuff. Quick note about Batista: he has been EXCELLENT lately.

WWE NXT (23rd February)
This with an awesome show. From the camera angles to the talent, I liked everything about it. I say everything, I didn't like Michael Cole during the Chris Jericho/Daniel Bryan (did you hear every smark 'gasm? I did) because he went way over-the-top. I will continue to watch this every week.

**Side Note: Why are smarks and dirtsheets refusing to call Daniel Bryan by the name Daniel Bryan? It is retarded. I'm sure they think it makes them feel smarter than those "kids" who watch WWE, but it doesn't, it just make them look like twats.**

WWE Superstars (25th February)
Swagger and Regal versus Santino and Masters was good. Zack Ryder versus Primo was good. Luke Gallows had a squash match and some promo time, it was okay. Hart Dynasty versus Hardy, Maria and Khali was good. Nothing else to say.

TNA iMPACT! (25th February)
I like Abyss, I always have, and I am glad he is getting a nice push, but I don't think this is the right way to do it. If Abyss gets over from it, and that bit of Hulkamania every wrestler could do with rubs off on him, I'll stand up and admit I was wrong. Hogan should never put on wrestling boots again, but everyone has said that for a while. Other than there wasn't anything too bad here to be honest. TNA still has a lot to do in the way of production and presentation, but the raw materials of wrestling and general angles is okay.

Show of the Week: WWE NXT
Wrestler of the Week: Chris Jericho
Non-Wrestler of the Week: Vickie Guerrero
Match of the Week: Smackdown Elimination Chamber (21/02 WWE Elimination Chamber)
Promo of the Week: Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker "Streak versus Soul"

Week In Wrestling Review (Feb 12th - Feb 18th)

I've had a very busy week so no full review. Basically, Smackdown was awesome, RAW was better than most people seem to be saying (the Jerry Springer skit was funny as all hell), the final ECW lived up to my expectations, Superstars was typical Superstars with good matches, and Impact was not watched by me but I saw Against All Odds and thought it was really boring with the exception of D'Angelo Dinero related stuff.

This week I'll only be giving out my weekly awards. Also, you only have 5 days to vote on the poll to your right, because the best matches from the last four weeks will be up.

Show of the Week: Smackdown
Wrestler of the Week: D'Angelo Dinero
Non-Wrestler of the Week: Jerry Springer
Match of the Week: Rey Mysterio versus CM Punk (February 12th)
Promo of the Week: Christian "Last ECW Champion"

TNA Moves To Mondays

That is all I want to post.

If you came here for news go to NoDQ or something.

Week In Wrestling Review (Feb 5th - Feb 11th)

A quick week for me, saw the live stream of RAW but didn't watch anything else until Thursday/Friday. This week I will return to reviewing ROH on HDNet, and also I will be reviewing the FCW from Sunday which featured such small matches as  ... Bryan Danielson versus Kaval (formerly Low Ki).

WWE Friday Night Smackdown (5th February)
I'm sorry to say this was somewhat of a forgettable Smackdown this week. I don't get why, taking a second quick look through the show an it all seems perfectly in order. Jericho and Edge were both on form, allowing them to deliver a kickass opening segment. The show seemed to focus mainly on the Elimination Chamber (that's a good thing) and that brought us plenty of good action. Morrison/McIntyre/Kane was a very enjoyable match, Hardy/Jericho was great, and Mysterio/Ziggler was fantastic. Truth/Knox was okay, but I'm one of the guys that isn't blown away by Truth, though I can see was the fuss is about. Very interesting what they did with Batista, having him walk out of his match against Punk; I look forward to the explanation. I guess my beef with it all was that aside from the Triple Threat and Punk/Batista, everything was very predication, no way were Hardy, Knox and Ziggler getting in the Chamber considering their opponents. I don't really like Mickie on the mic, but it is good to see the Divas still getting the attention and the segment + match ended up being good overall. The Cutting Edge, with The Undertaker, was awesome, mainly due to CM Punk interrupting proceedings, but it is very good to see WWE keeping everything open in terms of who Edge will be facing at Mania.

Flordia Championship Wrestling (7th February)
That match, Danielson/Kaval, was very bad. This was not Danielson's fault, he got very little offence in and generally was made to look weak in comparison to Kaval. Kaval though, who I am not a fan of, went through this match kicking, kicking, kicking, oh some form of takedown? No, another kick. That is all he did, and it got boring quickly ... in fact it never got exciting in the first place. Danielson worked with what he could, but you can't polish a turn, as the old saying goes. Other matches included The Dudebusters (I am hoping they bring that name to ECW, pending Barette and Croft don't get released) versus Joe Hennig and Brett DiBiase; I seem to be one of the few who like Croft and Baretta, so this match was okay to me, Hennig and DiBiase aren't nearly ready enough to step-up yet. Justin Angel versus Iforgothisname Tarver was decent as well, I see a lot of potential in Angel.

ROH on HDNet (8th February)
Surprise surprise, this was boring as hell. I'm not going to berate ROH for thinking Tyler Black and Roderick Strong cutting dual promos is a good way to open the show, because I think that goes without saying. I couldn't be less interested in this Tyler-versus-Aries-for-the-Title-if-there-is-a-time-limit-draw-it-goes-to-the-judges, because it is a terrible idea. My God though, I might be looking forward to a future episode, because we've been promised The Briscoes versus The Young Bucks for the Tag Titles, and they are two of the best tag teams on the Indy scene right now - when will The Briscoes get signed by TNA or WWE? Even the Bucks couldn't drag the blackhole of charisma and showmanship, Davey Richards, to anything more than an okay match. In closing, Steve Corino has gotten fat, I think he should be thinking about an announcing job, or something in creative, very soon, he looked awful tonight.

WWE Monday Night RAW (8th February) 
Okay, this was awesome. By far the best RAW of 2010 so far and it just illustrates how WWE steps-up its game going into WrestleMania. I don't even know where to start, so I'll go with the best bit: John Cena. This is shaping up to be the year John Cena shuts up all his critics and becomes legendary in his own right. His "Money, or the Moment" promo will go down as his defining moment, and it was a promo no one could have done better, including The Rock. Bret Hart was good when he wasn't tripping over things, but we are going to let that slide. Not a fan of ShowMiz getting the Tag Titles, but I am a huge fan of their name. Obviously, I don't know what WWE has planned, but The Straight Edge Society seemed like THE team to put the Unified Tag Titles on, but I am sure even without them they'll continue to be golden. Christian turning up was fantastic, and Sheamus also did very well in their match. I think Christian must have a hidden talent because he always seems to do his best with and gets the best out of bigger guys. Some complain that Christian lost, and though I'd have liked to see him win against anyone else, Sheamus needed to defeat someone who wasn't a jobber. I don't think it was very smart to completely destroy Ted DiBiase when he is the one in the Chamber match, but they also made Cody look good, making me believe they just can't decide on which one they want to push. The guest host was good this week as well, mainly because he was used sporadically, but at least he could talk. I going to get Jared from Subway.

ECW on Scyfy (9th February)
I thought this was a good ECW, just a shame it only has one week left. I have seen potential in Croft and Baretta for a while, but their match with Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust makes me hold onto hope that the transition into WWE NXT will not result in their release; they have a lot more to offer. The match itself was really good. Squash match by Ezekiel Jackson was what it was, and we get an Extreme Rules match, him versus Christian, for the ECW Title next week, so I am not going to complain. Benjamin/Archer wasn't as good, I thought both guys missed big time on this match, not really taking advantage of the No DQ/No Countout rules. In the end, Shelton went over, which makes me suspicious that we will be saying "Bye" to Vance Archer in the next few weeks, which I don't really like.

WWE Superstars (11th February)
To make things quick, all three matches (Swagger/Santino, Christian/Ryder, Ziggler/JTG) were really good. Santino never seems to fail in entertaining me, and he was certainly on form in his match with Swagger. Christian versus Ryder was a good match on all levels, they can play off each other really well and Ryder is proving himself to be a capable worker as well as a charisma machine, and damn, Christian has been awesome this week with two great matches. I love Ziggler, and really like JTG, so no prizes for guessing what my thoughts were here.

TNA iMPACT! (11th February)
Here's me thinking this way the night they made Eric Young (remember him? TNA's Global Champion? Supposed to have an alliance with Kevin Nash) relevant, misleading me with him coming out and cutting a promo alongside Hogan in which he said he was going to go after Hall and Syxx outside the Impact Zone ... only for Kurt Angle to talk him out of it later on. Come on, please, just try, please try to make some of your created stars look good. A lot more terrible stuff on this episode, including the Knockouts to my surprise, but that is because The Beautiful People haven't been interesting in a while, Tara has become terrible at getting responses, and Love has completely lost her momentum in record time. Not all bad though, Desmond Wolfe continues to cut promos the quality no one expected (Super Maxi Pad!) and AJ Styles had a pretty perfect line in the segment with Joe. Also, I'm glad Eric Bischoff is back on TV, say what you want about him personally but you can't deny that the man in entertaining.

Show of the Week: RAW
Wrestler of the Week: Christian
Non-Wrestler of the Week: Eric Bischoff
Match of the Week: Rey Mysterio versus Dolph Ziggler (February 5th)
Promo of the Week: John Cena "Money, of the moment?"

Week In Wrestling Review (Jan 29th - Feb 4th)

Pretty full week in terms of non-wrestling related stuff. Didn't have time to see all of ROH on HDNet (I warned you it'll be the one to go) and I'm not going to be reviewing NWA Anarchy this week either. On the flipside, that is only two hours down, and seeing as the Royal Rumble was this week you are actually gaining an extra hour than usual.

WWE Smackdown (January 29th)
Excellent show this week, and I mean excellent. I was of course annoyed that we didn't get to see D-X versus The Straight Edge Society but was perfectly happy to see Rey Mysterio versus Shawn Michaels and that terrific moment when Undertaker appeared and chokeslam'd them both at the same time. All the matches on this card were good or better with a particular standout to me being Morrison/McIntyre, which was excellent. I want to spent this sentence telling you how brilliant Serena is; every mannerism is spot on, she is awesome.

WWE Royal Rumble (January 31st)
Going in I thought we'd have an awesome Rumble Match with a weak undercard - turns out it was the other way round. Zeke/Christian was much better than I expected, Miz/MVP was as good as I expected it would be, Orton/Sheamus worked out really well, Mickie got her comeuppance on McCool brilliantly (though I wanted a match tbh), and Mysterio/Taker, which I was not at all interested in seeing, was outstanding. When we look to the Rumble though, a few things made it enjoyable: CM Punk, Beth Phoenix, Shawn Michaels, and Edge. Everything else was rather "meh" and I think I can put that down to a) Bringing out the big names too early, b) Not allowing anyone who isn't a big player get much shine. The closest to this was Punk and his promos, but he was eliminated way too early, and Truth eliminating Henry and Show.

WWE Monday Night RAW (February 1st)
Very, very fun RAW. William Shatner was only ever going to be so bad it's funny or just funny, and he surely delivered. I hope WWE will release a Shatner spoken-word theme-music CD for real, because I would totally get behind that. Outside of the Guest Host, we had a collection of really good matches. Jack Swagger looked like a million quid (Yeah, I've Britised an Americanism) against Triple H, which bemused me even more because I still don't know how they've not pushed him up the card yet. Glad they've went with Ted DiBiase in the Elimination Chamber instead of Cody Rhodes, he should be the one getting the push. One thing to criticise: Why O why did Kofi had to win his qualifying match by DQ? Are you trying to making him look weak, WWE? The Bret/Vince stuff is also awesome, I am loving it. I guess we'll see Batista w/Vince versus Cena w/Bret at Mania.

ECW on Scyfy (February 2nd)
Somewhat of a landmark ECW with Vince McMahon announcing its death and all that. I won't go into how stupid people on the internet are being, either saying it is a good thing because it destroyed the name of ECW or because WWE needed a show to get over young guys ... yeah, because ECW hasn't been doing that since Angle and Show left. That said, I good albeit underwhelming ECW this week. All the matches were fine, but the thing I enjoyed most is WWE turning another attempt by news media to give them a bad rep into a storyline.

WWE Superstars (February 4th)
This is why I like Superstars. Instead of overbooking stuff they take two midcard workers who can put on a good show, in this incidence Evan Bourne and Carlito, and let them go and perform. The two had a really good match this week. Drew McIntyre & The Hart Dynasty versus Khali, Hardy and Morrison was also a really good match. Then you have the Divas Tag Match, which would have been a good match if it weren't for that blackhole of talent called Alesha Fox.

TNA iMPACT! (February 4th)
Fuck me, what the hell are they doing? The only match that was face vs heel was Styles vs Pope, and THE POPE WON! WTF TNA? Styles is not only your World Champion but the guy Ric Flair is trying to put over and you have him lose? Idiots. And yeah, Samoa Joe is gonna be cashing in his Feast or Fired Case for a title shot at the next PPV (don't know what it is called), even though I don't even remember him being on TV in the last few weeks.

Show of the Week: WWE Smackdown
Wrestler of the Week: Edge
Non-Wrestler of the Week: Serena (I really wanted Shatner to win this, so he gets runner-up)
Match of the Week: Undertaker vs Rey Mysterio (Royal Rumble)
Promo of the Week: CM Punk "Straight Edge Rumble"

Royal Rumble Predictions

I am really looking forward to WWE's 23rd Royal Rumble. Unlike last year, when it was so predictable, this year it remains open with 5 guys having a realistic and sensible chance of winning (Kofi Kingston, John Cena, Batista, Triple H and Shawn Michaels).

First of all, I notice John Morrison and Drew McIntyre haven't been announced as participants in the Royal Rumble. Seeing as there has only been 5 matches made for the PPV I imagine we might get an Intercontinental Title match added last minute. If that happens, Drew McIntyre to retain. If not, oh well, the undercard matches must be getting 20-30 minutes each.

Michelle McCool versus Mickie James for the Woman's Title is an intriguing one. I am probably most looking forward to this out of all the undercard matches, as weird as that may seem. I seem to hold McCool in higher regard than most, because I do think she is a more than competent worker, so I think this match will end up being quite good. The storyline going into this, despite the criticism it is getting from other wrestling sites, is probably the best storyline WWE has going. However, that could quickly change depending on the result. I think Mickie James HAS to win this match. She has been bullied by the heels, she's been embarrassed, etc, she has to go into this PPV and give McCool her comeuppance and win the title. It simply does not work any other way, the good guy has to triumph. If not, and if McCool retains, WWE has made a huge mistake. If she wins WWE is essentially telling their young female viewership that fat is bad and you must look like skelator to succeed. Don't do that WWE, please.
My Prediction: Mickie James

The ECW Title Match, Christian versus Ezekiel Jackson will be a match I watch closely, because I really don't know what to think of Ezekiel. I think, so far, he plays his part as the big intimidating guy who also has some unseen intelligence really well, but I've thought that since he was paired with Brian Kendrick. My only indication since has been he doesn't completely suck in the ring, but he has never really had the chance to show how good he is or isn't. This makes things hard to predict quality-wise, but I am fairly confident in Christian's ability to get a good match out of almost everyone. That in mind, I think this will be a passable match at the least, and a good match at best. As for the winner, I would really be getting Christian ready to move on to RAW or Smackdown (preferably Smackdown) soon, so I think a Jackson win will work here. Regardless of the result though, I imagine they'll have a rematch at Elimination Chamber, and Jackson will win that to either retain or win the title.
My Prediction: Ezekiel Jackson

Sheamus versus Randy Orton for the WWE Title is a match I am indifferent about. Sheamus, for me, is the worst booked champion in a long time, even worse than Rey Mysterio. He gets so little TV time that it isn't even funny. This makes me think he is just a transitional champion and we will see him drop it to Orton. But, he is sort of protected by the idea that if Triple H wins the Rumble he will want to face Sheamus at Mania, but if that was the case then WHY has he been booked so badly? Make an effort if you want him in your WrestleMania main event.
My Prediction: Randy Orton

Now, I have absolutely no interest in Undertaker versus Rey Mysterio for the World Title. It might be because it has happened already for free on TV. There is a chance Mysterio will win, but if he does the only one he could face at Mania would be Batista. That is just playing Devil's Advocate to myself though, because I am pretty confident Undertaker will win.
My Prediction: The Undertaker

Finally, the Royal Rumble Match. For this, I'm not going to give a straight prediction, because the more I think the more I change my mind. I normally enter a few prediction contests for PPVs, and each one I've predicted a different winner. I mentioned earlier the five guys who could realistically win, and here is my fantasy-booker view at the five.

Batista winning: This will open the door to the likely WrestleMania matches of vs Rey Mysterio and vs The Undertaker, as well as possibly vs John Cena and vs Triple H. Batista is currently portraying the dominant monster, so I can see him coming in in the first half (10-15) and getting the most eliminations (six or seven). He is heel though, and as you can see there is not much to do. Him vs The Undertaker seems like a bit of a waste (though, they did put on a great match at WrestleMania 22), and Him vs Rey Mysterio has been done to death, so of the five I'd say he's the least likely.

John Cena winning: A win could put him against anyone. I and many others hope for vs Undertaker, there is also vs Randy Orton (I can hear groans from readers already), vs Batista, vs Sheamus, and vs Triple H (stop groaning). He is still a huge face as before, so he will always be WWE's go to guy for things like this if they have no one else, but he really doesn't have any programmes going on that makes him a clear winner. As much I'd love to see Him vs The Undertaker, I doubt they'd do it because of the amount of effort they've put into Michaels/Taker. Him vs Batista is the match I can see him having at Mania, but to make that match happen all he has to do is eliminate Batista. He is my fourth most likely to win.

Kofi Kingston winning: I REALLY REALLY want this to be the result. Him vs Randy Orton, to me, is the match that should be happening at Mania with Kingston going over as the next big superstar in WWE. The thing is, with how he has been booked in recent weeks, his momentum has completely died down, and that is WWE's fault only. He did beat Miz on the go-home RAW, which raises his chances somewhat, and I feel his win would still be hot, just not as hot as it should be. I can imagine him in the final four with Jericho, HHH and Michaels; Michaels and Trips battling on the apron, Kofi meanwhile eliminates Jericho out of nowhere (maybe takes the Codebreaker, falls back onto the ropes, ducks a Jericho clothesline and tosses Jericho out), Michaels hits the SCM on Triple H to eliminate him, turns around into the Trouble In Paradise and Kofi wins. He is my third most likely to win.

Triple H winning: Okay, this is going to sound really smarkish. This allows for vs Sheamus mainly, but with vs John Cena, vs Batista and vs Orton. Only one of them is fresh, two have been done to death, and one would be a perfectly reasonable main event for Mania. Him vs Sheamus really shouldn't be happening because of how bad they've booked Sheamus. On top of all this, HHH hasn't had a very good year, and has no reason to win. Yet, he is my second most likely to win, because he is Triple H and he has, to me, presented as most likely to win on WWE TV by looking dominant lately.

Shawn Michaels winning: This is all about vs The Undertaker at WrestleMania. 'Nuff said really. He is my most likely to win, but I'm not too confident of him winning because he can easily win an Elimination Chamber match and still get the match against The Undertaker at Mania, and another month of Michaels being angry and trying to get the match would be GREAT TV. I'd rather he did do it at Elimination Chamber, to be honest. Regardless of winning or not, I think his story is the most important going into the Rumble, so I can see him coming in early (4-6) and lasting till the end, staying in the longest.

So, to summarise, here are a few lists:

Most Likely:
1. Michaels
2. HHH
3. Kingston
4. Cena
5. Batista

Preffered:
1. Kingston
2. Cena
3. Michaels
4. Batista
5. HHH

Better Mania-wise:
1. Kingston
2. Michaels
3. Cena
4. HHH
5. Batista

Better TV-wise:
1. Cena
2. Kingston
3. Michaels
4. HHH
5. Batista

Most Eliminations: Batista
Earliest Entry: Michaels
Latest Entry: HHH
Longest Time In Match: Michaels
Other Guys To Watch For: Chris Jericho, Big Show, CM Punk, Kane, Ted DiBiase, Cody Rhodes, The Miz, Yoshi Tatsu.

Week In Wrestling Review (Jan 22nd - Jan 28th)

Welcome to the Week In Wrestling Review, once again I review the four WWE shows plus four non-WWE shows including TNA Impact, ROH, NWA Anarchy and the much liked Dragon Gate USA. Spoiler though: I might not be one of the masses.

WWE Friday Night Smackdown (January 22nd)
Once again another great show, the highlight being ... you guessed it ... the Straight Edge Society of CM Punk, Luke Gallows, and Serena Deeb (AKA Mia Mancini). I hope Serena continues to appear on TV because she performed really well. Elsewhere Chris Jericho and Drew McIntyre vs R-Truth and Jon Morrison was a GREAT match, and Drew looked fantastic; Jericho and McIntyre need to team more, they work well as a duo. I think they made a mistake with Beth; I'd have rather they kept her neutral rather than side her with the heels. This segments though saw the crowd pop for Mickie and Maria, showing they are indeed on the side of the face, which rarely seems to happen in these days of smarkism. Everything else was average or better, including Batista's squash of Finlay. I still do not care even slightly about Undertaker/Mysterio at the Rumble.

DGUSA Freedom Fight (January 22nd)
Well, you can tell it was booked by Gabe Sapolsky. It dragged terribly and the lack is psychology was blatantly obvious. They did put out some good booking. I got that BxB Hulk was a graduate of the Dragon Gate Dojo, was a fan favourite, and had tried and failed many times to get a title, and to capture the Open the Freedom Gate (what is with the lame title names anyway?) was a big deal. So, well done DGUSA for making me care, though I had a vested interest in Gran Akuma, who I have liked for a while now. When there was good though, there was bad. Jon Moxley, for example, was awful. The entire tournament layout was bad. And absolutely every match lacked psychology to the point where it seemed to drudge along with only spots holding it together.

NWA Anarchy TV (January 24th)
It doesn't feel right to review this. It is only shown on a small local station, so very few people watch it, but it is available every Sunday on the NWA Anarchy website (http://www.nwaanarchy.net). The wrestlers that are on it, and the entire programme itself is not good, per say, but has potential to be good. Some of the workers I am fans of, such as Phill Shatter, Truitt Fields, Mikal Judas and others. Of course, there are so many average or worse wrestlers, and some terrible writing, as such the quality proves volatile on a week by week basis, and this was a week in which it was pretty bad. I'm sticking with it though.

ROH on HDNet (January 25th)
I can imagine that if I were to stop watching one of my wrestling weeklies, ROH would be the first one, because I really don't care about any of it. Tyler Black is horrendous on the microphone and has the charisma of the average turtle, Austin Aries is someone I never got into, and Jim Cornette is, well, Jim Cornette. Pretty much the only guys I do like are The Briscoes, Kenny King and Rhett Titus, and one of them wasn't on the show. Absolutely hilarious stuff when they showed a tiny graphic announcing Jushin Liger versus Austin Aries at some point in ROH's event schedule ... yeah, Jushin F'N LIGER!? Doesn't that deserve some form of hype?

WWE Monday Night RAW (January 25th)
This was an absolutely awesome RAW. Dule Hill was fantastic, John Cena proved exactly why he is where he is, and the Bret Hart/Vince McMahon storyline was advanced beautifully. I have two criticisms, first being Gail Kim, as she didn't get an entrance yet she won and went to the final, WWE should be making it less obvious that Maryse will take the Divas Title, not more obvious. Going back to John Cena, man, was he on fire this week. Not only did he do so well with Dule Hill and perform an absolute masterclass in how to cut a promo but he also put on a fantastic match with Sheamus, which was probably Sheamus' best match yet (and I was really holding out to say this). My other criticism is MVP losing so fast, I don't think WWE have did a good job booking him, but MVP and Miz are certainly doing a great job at putting their feud over. I am so excited for the Royal Rumble after this too.

ECW on ScyFy (January 26th)
Good show this week, despite only having two matches. Two good and long matches, but that can still be a hinerance. Kane and Christian versus Jackson and Regal was fine, but probably should have closed the show, and the six-man tag was great but came across very get-all-these-guys-on-TV. This all worked out well though, there is not many guys on the roster and the only ones not involved in-ring-wise were Vance Archer and Shelton Benjamin, but they can only have singles matches so many times, and 4 on 4 would be a bit too much. At least Yoshi Tatsu went over. The rest of the show was mainly flogging Royal Rumble, and rightly so, because as I say WWE are doing a really good job getting me excited for the PPV.

WWE Superstars (January 28th)
What the hell? A good match featuring the Bella Twins? Yes, that is what this show brags. Chris Masters vs Chavo Guerrero vs Primo Colon was another good match with Masters winning to get his spot in the Royal Rumble. It is amazing how simply turning face could make him more interesting enough to actually get pops. I absolutely hate Truth on the microphone, but luckily Jericho saved the segment with his facial reactions. The main event was David Hart Smith vs Matt Hardy and that was also a good match. None of the matches would blow you away, but that isn't the intention of Superstars.

TNA iMPACT! (January 28th)
Impact was good this week, which is weird because it was okay last week. This week also saw another ratings increase, which means TNA are actually getting an increasing amount of viewers (based on two weeks). When I say good though I am referring to one thing, really, and that is the in-ring product. I thought all the matches on this show were okay or better, and this show did seem mostly wrestling in contrast to other Impacts recently. TNA still fails big time in how they present their product. For example, the sound guy needs to be fired, because he played both Hogan's and Anderson's music prematurely (before they had finished their promos). The commentary is still awful. Everyone seems to be a tweener, as if TNA was a shit eFed. The booking still remains confusing and the storylines border between stupid and retarded (what was even the purpose of the "Earl Hebner Screwjob"?). So, sorry TNA, I think you are improving at a snail's pace, but you I still find myself getting up to do other stuff with you on in the background.

And now, this week's honours go to:

Show of the Week: WWE Monday Night RAW
Wrestler of the Week: John Cena
Non-Wrestler of the Week: Dule Hill
Match of the Week: McIntyre & Jericho / Truth & Morrison (22/01 WWE Smackdown)
*new* Promo Of The Week: John Cena "Vince's 90th Birthday"

Week In Wrestling Review (Jan 15th - Jan 21st)

This is my weekly review of wrestling TV from this week. It goes from Friday to Thursday. 


WWE Smackdown (January 15th)
This was the usual quality of Smackdown that I have come to expect with some excellent performances. Chris Jericho, CM Punk and Luke Gallows were all particular highlights. Gallows is really coming into his own alongside Punk and it shows, and I find myself hoping they put the tag titles onto them (though with DX entering the Rumble I wonder when this will happen). The woman's division is very entertaining thanks to one Beth Phoenix, who actually looks like a legit force in the woman's division right now, which is exactly how she should be used. Props also to Michelle McCool, she gets stick but she is a good performer from time to time and this beatdown showed that, as it also did to Layla who is vastly underrated in my eyes. Kane/Ziggler is also enjoyed, though I do love Ziggler no end. The main event of Batista and Rey Mysterio was quite enjoyable too, it is a shame that their feud got really old really fast, but that happens when they face each other EVERY WEEK. 


TNA Genesis (January 17th) 
I was very split on this PPV, some bits were good and some were awful. I'll start with the worst: Whose idea was it to have Abyss vs Mr Anderson on Anderson's debut? It didn't work, and I have no idea if Anderson is supposed to be heel or face (to use a point others have made, if they think Anderson can pull of a "Steve Austin" they are wrong). Amazing Red vs Brian Kendrick gets a mention here because the match had no right to be as bad as it was, both men (especially Kendrick) are great performers yet they didn't mesh well and they blow so many spots. Nash/Syxx vs Beer Money was a match I expected to be bad, alas I wasn't surprised. The less said about Tara/ODB the better. The good: The main even was well done, though what we say on TV a couple of weeks earlier, but the ending was great, I loved that. British Invasion/Morgan & Hernandez was very good, it came off really well and was my second favourite match of the night, and maybe the week. My MOTN and MOTW was The Pope vs Desmond Wolfe, I enjoyed it so much, loved every second of it. Also, Anderson's reveal was good as well, the guy does has skill on the mic, I'll give him that much. 


ROH on HDNet (January 18th)
I haven't watched Ring Of Honor in a while and this show reminded me why. First, I'll talk about Jay Briscoe vs Mark Briscoe in a Pick 6 Qualifiers match. Before the match there was a segment in which the Briscoes said to one another than they wouldn't attack the knee (Mark recently had a knee injury) and that the winner buys the beers for the other one (there was prize money on offer), yet when the match happened the commentators said "I wonder what they'll spend the money on?", "Probably beers." and "Mark just got back from a knee injury, I wonder if Jay will attack it." This is my issue with ROH, they have no idea how to put on a TV show. There is a lack of continuity, all the matches were laggy and boring, and half the time the wrestlers don't seem to care about selling or psychology (Delirious beat Sonjay Dutt in a submission match and never seemed to work over a body part or even apply a submission hold before locking in the winning submission). That said, ROH can and will often deliver good matches with some good spots, they just didn't on this occasion. 


WWE Monday Night RAW (January 18th)
I thought it was fairly non-offensive once again. Jon Heder was a great heel and meshed with Miz and Show well enough to pull off an enjoyable main event. Jack Swagger should be used better, I think, but I must admit the over-the-top-rope challenge is fun; if it was any other dick heel I'd really like it. I'm still very sceptical about Sheamus/Orton, but the build on this show was okay. Okay is going to get repeated, because I felt the same way about Legacy vs Kofi/Cena, it didn't blow me away but at least they are keeping the two faces relevant ... they should really do something with DiBiase though. One last thing, MVP was being built so well as a challenger, but he gets knocked out at the beginning of the show and doesn't appear again ... why?


WWE ECW (January 19th)
A lackluster ECW for the most part this week. Santino was not very good at the talk show host thing, which is weird because I thought he'd be very good at it, and Vladimir Kozlov just did not get over at all. I feel a simple mention that he became an official American citizen would have worked better if they were trying to do what I think they were trying to do and get Kozlov some pops. Croft and Baretta are guys I sort of like, but I don't really have any interest in, but the match with Tatsu and Goldust was okay. Main event was also quite good, but didn't blow me away, though I will say I am really looking forward to Christian vs Jackson at the Royal Rumble. 


WWE Superstars (January 21st)
I really love Superstars, I can't believe I never used to watch it. We got to see a fairly decent match from Kelly Kelly and Jillian Hall, a good showing from both Vance Archer (yes, I said it) and Shelton Benjamin, and a very good match from Chris Jericho and Kane. Not much to say but quality wrestling right here.


TNA Impact! (January 21st)
Was okay this week, certainly better than I expected/better than spoilers made it look. AJ Styles works much better as a heel and Flair's new guitar remix music is great (I want it on ringtone), but damn, the ending to Angle/Styles was awful. Everything else was fine and dandy, Morgandez/TBI delivered again, Orlando Jordan put on a pretty good performance against the absolutely awesome D'Angelo Dinero and Angelina Love vs Madison Rayne was also pretty good. The stuff with Foley, Bischoff and Jarrett has me very confused, Mr Anderson has me confused (though I enjoyed Abyss' facials during the promo) and no Kendrick? Why? He just debuted and lost, you should be getting him out there so he doesn't look like a total waste. Also, giving publicity to Bubba The Love Sponge is disgusting after his comments about Haiti.


That's all for this week. So I'll give out some honours.


Show of the Week: WWE Smackdown
Wrestler of the Week: Chris Jericho
Non-Wrestler of the Week: Jon Heder
Match of the Week: Pope/Wolfe from TNA Genesis


Next week I will be reviewing the same shows plus a show I've been catching lately, NWA Anarchy.

Match of the Week/Month/Year

NOTE:

• This will be updated weekly.
• Weeks begin Fridays (because January 1st was a Friday)
• Every four weeks I'll ask you what you thought was match of the "month". Winners will be marked with a *MOTM* symbol.

Jan 1st - Jan 7th: *MOTM* Kurt Angle versus AJ Styles (4/01 TNA iMPACT!)
Jan 8th - Jan 14th: Kane versus Dolph Ziggler (8/01 WWE Smackdown)
Jan 15th - Jan 21st: "The Pope" D'Angelo Dinero versus Desmond Wolfe (17/01 TNA Genesis)
Jan 22nd - Jan 28th: Chris Jericho & Drew McIntyre versus R-Truth & John Morrison (22/01 WWE Smackdown)
Jan 29th - Feb 4th: The Undertaker versus Rey Mysterio (31/01 WWE Royal Rumble)
Feb 5th - Feb 11th: Rey Mysterio versus Dolph Ziggler (5/02 WWE Smackdown)
Feb 12th - Feb 18th: Rey Mysterio versus CM Punk (12/02 WWE Smackdown)
Feb 19th - Feb 25th: Smackdown Elimination Chamber (21/02 WWE Elimination Chamber)
Feb 26th - Mar 4th:
Mar 5th - Mar 11th:
Mar 12th - Mar 18th:
Mar 19th - Mar 25th:
Mar 26th - Apr 1st: